Hear PJ Harvey on War Horrors in Raw New Song 'I'll Be Waiting'

PJ Harvey conjures the horrors of war on “I’ll Be Waiting,” one half of her new double-A-side single. Over a raw acoustic guitar, she channels the perspective of a child whose hometown is obliterated in battle. “They swept across the land/ They did not leave a thing/ They did not leave a person, stone or a tree,” she sings. “They did not leave anything/ All that’s left is sand.”

Each verse grows more harrowing, as the protagonist remembers their dead father, becomes consumed by hate and – in a commentary on the poisonous, cyclical nature of war – vows revenge: “And when they return, I will be waiting/ I will not leave a person standing.”

Harvey’s other new single is the more atmospheric “A Dog Called Money.” Both tracks follow her Grammy-nominated ninth LP, 2016’s The Hope Six Demolition Project, inspired by the songwriter’s travels through Afghanistan, Kosovo and Washington D.C.Harvey recently kicked off